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6 News CMDR Fenn Kemp AIR Force has joined ADF nurses in paying tribute to the victims of a wartime tragedy and honouring their legacy 75 years on. Twenty-two Australian Army nurses went ashore on Bangka Island after their ship was sunk by Japanese forces in the Bangka Strait, off the coast of Sumatra, on February 12, 1942. The nurses, along with British sailors and soldiers, and civilian men, women and children, had escaped Singapore on 44 ships just before it fell to Imperial Japanese forces. Forty of the vessels were attacked by Japanese aircraft or hit sea mines in the Bangka Strait. The survivors washed up on or near remote Radji Beach. The civilian women and children walked to the nearby town of Muntok to surrender, while the nurses stayed on the beach to care for the wounded. Wreaths mark the spot where 22 Australian nurses were made to walk into the surf before they were shot by Japanese soldiers on Bangka Island’s Radji Beach. Inset: (from left) CDRE Bob Plath, nephew of one of the victims Michael Noyce, SQNLDR Julie Willes and CHAP Troy White at the unveiling of a plaque to commemorate the victims on the beach. The Japanese patrol that found them on February 16 did not accept their surrender. They ordered about 50 British soldiers and sailors to march around a headland before executing them and bayonetting the wounded. They then returned to the beach and ordered the nurses and one female civilian to walk into the surf. Seconds before the machine gun opened fire on the row of women, the head nurse, Matron Irene Drummond, was the last to speak: “Chins up, girls. I’m proud of you and I love you all.” AIR RCEF March 9, 2017 Beach victims honoured Only one Australian nurse lived through the mass killings. Sister Vivian Bullwinkel was badly wounded but survived in the jungle for two weeks with the assistance of some women in a local village. She eventually surrendered to the Japanese and was sent to a prison camp. Sister Bullwinkel survived the camp and went on to give evidence at the war crimes trial of those who murdered so many of her friends and colleagues. Seventy-five years later, ADF mem- bers gathered with the families of some of the nurses killed. They included 12 Army nurses from across Australia and Defence staff from the Australian embassy in Jakarta, led by CDRE Bob Plath. “This was a very special day for all of us,” CDRE Plath said. “While the 22 Australian nurses are the natural focus of the Bangka Island story, we also reflected today on the many Royal Navy sailors and British Army members who died that day. “Ultimately, though, this event was for the families and we were honoured to be there on the beach with them.” The ceremony on Radji Beach was the most emotional of a series of activities to mark the anniversary. The locals turned out in force and the Indonesian nurses paying their own tribute to those who died. “Vivian Bullwinkel survived for two weeks in the jungle thanks to the goodwill of some local people, so it was heart-warming to see their descendants on the beach today,” CDRE Plath said. From left, On Radji Beach author Ian W. Shaw, South Australian Women’s Memorial Playing Fields Trust patron Lan Le, trust Air Force rep FLTLT Kate Yaxley and Air Warfare Centre Commander AIRCDRE Vincent Iervasi at the unveiling of the plaque at RAAF Base Edinburgh. In memory of a brave nurse and local heroes A PLAQUE commemorating the heroism of an Australian war nurse who survived the Bangka Island massacre in Indonesia 75 years ago has been unveiled at RAAF Base Edinburgh. Representatives of the South Australian Women’s Memorial Playing Fields Trust were among a number of guests at the unveiling, which also recognised the courage of villagers at Radji Beach who helped war nurse Vivian Bullwinkel and other survivors of sinking ships in Bangka Strait after the fall of Singapore. Trust patron Lan Le, the wife of South Australian Governor Mr Hieu Van Le, paid tribute to the villagers and Sister Bullwinkel, who was the sole survivor of the massacre that followed the sinking. The commemoration was hosted by SADFO and Commander of the Air Warfare Centre AIRCDRE Joe Iervasi at the base’s officers mess, where Sister Bullwinkel’s life and heroism is honoured on a storyboard. “This year, and as we step through significant milestones from the first and second world wars, we cast our minds back 75 years as the war came to Australia’s doorstep,” he said. “We saw a massive change to our commitments and it was those formative stages of the war, at the end of 1941 and early 1942, which really shaped who we are today. “It is critically important that we recall and reflect on those who have gone before us, particularly those who made the supreme sacrifice and those who, for no other reason than human compassion, provided support and enabled life to continue on in the face of what was their own personal threat and danger,” he said. Born in Kapunda, South Australia, and an avid supporter of the trust, Sister Bullwinkel, ignoring her own wounds, cared for a British soldier by seeking help from Bangka Island villagers. The plaque unveiled by Mrs Le is a replica of a plaque to be presented to the new Indonesian Ambassador in Canberra later this year. The trust organised the plaque to recognise the contribution of women to the nation in time of war. Photo: CPL David Cotton